Just had a prisoner spit directly in one of our @HobokenPD officer’s face during processing. Correspondents from @FiOS1NewsNJ saw the conduct of that individual & his 2 friends outside of HQ while interviewing me. They are seeing 1st hand what we are dealing with. Report at 10pm.

Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante‘s twitter account was pretty busy last night, detailing all the mayhem brought on by Hoboken SantaCon—which drew in an estimated 5,000 participants and choked the sidewalks of downtown Hoboken with red-clad revelers.

Those arrested hailed from places like Middletown, Bloomfield, Hewitt, Linden, Hopatcong, and other towns on the NJ Transit lines that put Hoboken in the crosshairs for events such as this. The city’s convenience and remarkable accessibility—which make it such a desirable place to live—leave it vulnerable to a concentrated influx of antisocial behavior from surrounding areas.

According to the good people at PubCrawls.com, seemingly, “a portion of proceeds will be donated to Kidz1st, Inc.” Earlier in the week, hMAG reached out to PubCrawls.com regarding the charity, and they had no information. We were directed to Hoboken Bar & Grill for more information, but as of press time our phone call remains unanswered.

“Picture thousands of Santa’s [sic] running wild through the streets of Hoboken and having access to some of the best bars you can imagine,” says PubCrawls.com, on the Hoboken SantaCon event page. “That’s exactly what you’ll get with this great event.”

Meanwhile, many other bars and restaurants flat-out refused to serve anyone involved in the unsanctioned pub crawl.

I would like to thank all @CityofHoboken bars & restaurants who are NOT participating in this unsanctioned SantaCon event today & whose businesses are hurt by this event. thank you to the 85+ liquor establishments who have NOT had ONE Tavern Complaint issued against them this yr.

Mayor-Elect Ravi Bhalla has said, “SantaCon is not welcome in Hoboken.” Saturday’s event has proven to be more disruptive than LepreCon, the annual snarl that has come to replace the infamous Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

In addition to the 17 arrests, there were 51 City Ordinance summonses (public drinking, public urination, disorderly conduct), 32 moving violation summonses, 55 individuals transported to local hospitals, and 282 calls for service—all within a 16-hour period.

Our @HobokenPD ABC Enforcement team has reported to me this morning that there are over two dozen ABC Tavern Complaints issued against liquor establishments for ABC Violations, with some establishments receiving multiple complaints.